He lived in 17 places by age 17, but mostly in Sidney, Nebraska, where he graduated from high school in 1958.

in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied poetry with Ann Stanford.

He has made a living as an actor for over 30 years and has been in 37 films, including Martin Scorsese's first six feature films: Who's That Knocking at My Door, Boxcar Bertha, Mean Streets, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver and New York, New York.

He was Mr. Bimmel in Jonathan Demme's film The Silence of the Lambs and starred in Over the Edge and Fighting Mad.

Poets who read at the venue include Robert Peters, Jack Hirschman and Lewis MacAdams.